Heroes Among Us - April 2013

Real Salt Lake and American Express are proud to recognize Jeffery Denney as the recipient of the "Hero Among Us" honor on April 20th 2013. Jeffery is a young man who refused to let a terrible accident stop him from pursuing his dreams. Last March Jeffery, a professional skier with his sites on the Sochi Olympics, was skiing when he crashed, slid off the run and slammed into a tree. His leg was injured beyond repair and had to be amputated from the knee down; he did not know if he would ever ski again. Jeffery had spent the day before his accident volunteering for National Ability Center's annual fundraiser, Red, White and Snow; when they heard of his accident they wasted no time reaching out to him. With the help of their coaches and a carbon fiber leg he was back on skis less than 8 months after being released from the hospital. It was a huge accomplishment but it was not enough. Jeffery wanted to continue competing and to do this he needed to learn how to snowboard. He set his mind to it and today, just over a year since he lost his leg Jeffery is competitively snowboarding.

RSL VP of Corporate Partnerships Andy Carroll, Jeffery Denney, and Public Affairs and Communication Representative of American Express Sujata Mallick.

Real Salt Lake and American Express are proud to recognize 12 year old CJ Sauslgiver as the recipient of the “Hero Among Us” honor on April 27th 2013. CJ Saulsgiver spent his 12th birthday saving his mother’s life. On the afternoon of his birthday CJ was home playing with his friend when he heard his mom call out for help. CJ rushed to his mother’s aid and found her on the floor, struggling for breath; she was having a heart attack. CJ immediately called 911 and explained the situation to the dispatcher and was told to start CPR. The dispatcher offered to walk CJ through CPR but there was no need; CJ already knew what to do. Three months earlier he had taken a CPR course with his parents. Despite his young age and the seriousness of the situation he remembered what he had been taught. CJ started chest compressions; he was scared that he was pressing too hard but he kept going until the paramedics arrived to take over. His mother is alive and well today and was able to attend the April 27th RSL match to watch her son as he was honored as the Real Salt Lake and American Express Hero Among Us.